35 Spline Upgrade

The Dana 60 front axle is very stout in stock form, but if it has a weak link it is generally considered to be the outer stub shaft which is approximately the same size as a Dana 44 stub shaft. By upgrading the outer stub shaft to a 35 spline unit (originally for a Dana 70) it will now match the stock inner shafts and have 1.5" x 35 spline axle shafts throughout. In addition to upgrading the stub shafts the old 30 spline locking hubs will also need to be upgraded to 35 spline units. Fortunately Warn makes a few different 35 spline hubs that were originally intended for rear D60 and 9" (Ford) full float applications that will also work on a front Dana 60 axle with 35 spline stub shafts.

When we started shopping around for the parts we needed for this upgrade we found them to be pretty expensive especially if you wanted to change out the u-joints to Spicer's new forged units which we would recommend. Fortunately there is a company called the 4wd Factory in Texas that has put together a 35 spline upgrade kit that even includes the new Spicer forged u-joints for an awesome price. With a very low price and the great service they offer it was a no-brainer to go with them, it was also nice to get all the parts from one source.

Remove the old shafts by removing the brake caliper, hub and rotor assembly, spindle and backing plate. A six prong hub socket is needed to loosen the hub nut or you can tap it loose sometimes with just a screwdriver.

Remove locking hub

Remove hub and rotor assembly

Remove spindle and backing plate

Remove axle shafts
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To install a new 35 spline stub shaft the old u-joint will have to be removed, this is a great project to utilize your vice if you have one. Locate 4 small c-clips on the inside of the axle shaft, to remove them, tap the end of them with a screwdriver until they come out enough to pry out, all four need to be removed.

Place the axle shaft assembly in the vice with the short side yokes clamped down and the long side yoke hanging freely. Now comes the fun part, with a large hammer hit the long side yoke right behind the cap, repeat as necessary until the cap starts to come up out of the yoke, don't be afraid to really get after it especially if the u-joints have not been replaced for a while. Once the cap is out far enough you can pull it out the rest of the way with a pliers, flip the axle assembly over and repeat the process on the opposite side.

Remove C-clips

Hammer the yoke until cap starts to come up​

After the caps have been removed from the long side shaft, separate the long and short side, if the old u-joint is in good shape you might want to keep it in the short side shaft and use both as a trail spare, if you do this you will also need to keep the old 30-spline hub. If you want to remove the old u-joint from the short side shaft that you will no longer use, simply place the u-joint on top of the vice and bang away until it pops out.

Remove the u-joint caps from the new forged units and position the joint inside the axle yoke, at this point you can install the caps into the yokes from the outside, then simply place the yoke in the vice and slowly tighten until the caps slide inward and you get to the grove where the c-clips go in, then tap in the clips, repeat the process for the other caps. After the u-joint is installed is a good time to install the grease zerk and pump a little fresh grease into the new u-joints. Also, don't forget to remove the slinger (stone shield) from the old stub and put it on the new stub shaft.

Position the joint inside the axle yoke

slowly tighten until the caps slide inward

Ready to install into axle
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Now it's time to install the axle shafts back into the axle, insert the axle shaft assembly, install the backing plate, then carefully install the spindle over the new shaft. After the spindle nuts are torqued down the hub/rotor assembly gets installed, using a 6 prong hub socket, tighten the adjusting nut to 50 ft lbs and then back it off 90 degrees. While continuing to rotate the wheel, tighten the adjusting nut to 35 ft lbs and then back it off 3/8 of a turn. Install the lock washer and outer locknut, then tighten the outer locknut to 65ft lbs. Bend one ear of the lock washer over the inner nut and approximately 60 degrees over the outer nut.

Install shafts and backing plate

Install hub/rotor, lockouts, brakes etc.
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The body of the hub is installed along with the large and small snap rings then the large o-ring is inserted in the new hub dial and finally installed. Six small screws are installed with o-rings which help keep water out of the new hub.

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